Oklahoma City police booked a man on a first-degree murder complaint in the killing of a woman found dead in a northwest apartment. The case is the city's 45th homicide of 2026.

Officers responded just after 1 p.m. Sept. 8, to an apartment complex at NW 39th St. and Altadena Ave., near Interstate 44, after someone reported a body inside one of the units, Oklahoma City Free Press reported. The woman was identified as 45-year-old Starla Harp.

Detectives determined that Harp's injuries were consistent with homicide and identified a 43-year-old man as a suspect. Police did not disclose the nature of the injuries or the evidence that led them to the suspect.

No motive has been disclosed.

The suspect was located near NW 63rd St. and Meridian Ave. and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center on Sept. 9 on a first-degree murder complaint. A booking on a complaint does not constitute a formal charge. The suspect has not been convicted and is presumed innocent.

Police have not announced an arraignment date or a timeline for formal charges.

2026 homicide count in context

The case pushes Oklahoma City's 2026 homicide total to 45 through the first nine months of the year. The city's previous homicide, its 44th, occurred Aug. 12 when police found a person dead with injuries consistent with homicide at a homeless encampment near Reno and M.L. King avenues, according to an OKCPD bulletin. No arrests had been made in that case as of Aug. 13.

Oklahoma City recorded 74 homicides in all of 2025. A Major Cities Chiefs Association survey covering Jan. 1 through Oct. 30, 2025, showed the city had 47 homicides in that span, down about 22% from 60 over the same period in 2024, KOKH Fox 25 reported.

The city reported 65 murders to the FBI in 2023 and 62 in 2022, according to OKCPD annual reports.

Anyone with information about any Oklahoma City homicide can call the OKCPD Homicide Tip Line at (405) 297-1200.